It’s been one of aviations worst kept secrets. After years (not to mention tears) of trying, AirAsia X can finally call Sydney as one of its key destinations city after flight D7222 landed at the Kingsford Smith International Airport, Sydney.

The arrival of AirAsia X into Sydney further expands its reach across Australasia and opens new possibilities for travel, trade and tourism between Australia and Malaysia.

AirAsia X, will operate daily flights from Kuala Lumpur LCCT to Kingsford Smith International Airport. The daily service would provide guests with a quick getaway to South Australia via Sydney.

To celebrate the new service, AirAsia X is offering a one way fare from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney from as low as MYR399* on Economy and MYR1,029* on Premium for online bookings between 2 and 5 April 2012 and for travel between 26 June 2012 and 30 September 2013.

Fly-thru promotional fares from Sydney to Japan (Osaka), Indonesia (Bandung, Surabaya, Jakarta, Bali, Medan), Thailand (Phuket, Bangkok), Singapore, and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh) from as low as AUD239 are also available in conjunction with the inaugural launch of the Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route.

AirAsia X Chairwoman, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, AirAsia X CEO, Azran Osman-Rani and members of the media joined passengers on the inaugural flight which departed Kuala Lumpur LCCT at 23:40 last night.

“AirAsia X’s presence in Sydney is a game changer which will deliver more competitive fares and choice for everyone looking to travel to Sydney,” Mr Osman-Rani said.

“We are very excited to bring some much-needed competition to Sydney’s skies and continue to live up to our brand promise of ‘Now everyone can fly’.”

“We are delighted with the response to the Sydney service and have recorded strong forward sales since we open the route for sale in January. We’ve also seen a solid show of support from international travellers from key international markets who are keen to fly to Sydney to enjoy all it has to offer.

“We expect our latest round of sale fares, which offer a longer travel period, will continue to drive interest in this flagship route.”

Azran concluded that, “The new route was part of the airline’s strategy to focus on its core markets of Australia, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, China and Iran.”

“In addition to the new Sydney service, AirAsia has also increased frequencies in Perth, Taipei and Tokyo as part of the network realignment strategy.”

Kuala Lumpur is the gateway to over 70 destinations AirAsia flies to. The hub benefits from servicing guests from popular destinations across ASEAN, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China.

Sydney is AirAsia X’s fourth destination in Australia after Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth. The route is also the city’s only direct long-haul, low fare service from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Asia is one of our strongest growth markets for inbound tourism, with Malaysian tourists growing by 9 per cent last year. AirAsia X’s arrival is a win for Sydney and a win for NSW,” Ms Mather said.

“With the strong dollar seeing Australians travel overseas in record numbers, AirAsia X is also poised to capitalise on a strong outbound market. Sydney has the nation’s largest outbound leisure market, with 3.1 million people going overseas on holiday last year. AirAsia X offers a great product and even more choice for travellers.”

The Airbus A330-300 aircraft with a configuration of 12 Premium flatbed seats and 365 Economy seats will be used for the Kuala Lumpur – Sydney sector.

AirAsia X began operations into Australia with flights to the Gold Coast in November 2007. Perth and Melbourne were added a year later. AirAsia’s affiliate Indonesia AirAsia also serves Australia with daily flights to Bali from Perth.

For bookings or further information visit www.airasia.com or book on your mobile at mobile.airasia.com. Flights and fares are subject to availability. Terms and conditions apply.

Earn BIG Points with BIG, AirAsia’s Loyalty Programme when you purchase flight tickets and travel packages. Sign up now at tune2big.com to redeem BIG Points for free flights with AirAsia.

Guests flying AirAsia and AirAsia X can enjoy extensive travel protection coverage from AirAsia INSURE, a suite of general and lifestyle protection products offered by AirAsia and managed by Tune Money. The AirAsia INSURE travel protection is available in most key markets including Australia. Guests can conveniently purchase or add-on AirAsia INSURE via www.airasia.com. Further information is available at www.airasiainsure.com.

*All fares quoted are all-in fares, inclusive of airport tax and fuel surcharge. For one way only.